Beyond Control

Chapter 20 (Kaysen's perspective)

I gasped for air after stepping out of the room. It was suffocating and hot in that room, the temperature aroused after I teased her.

Then, I chuckled to myself, thinking how weak and fragile she is. All it took was a few words teasing her and she lost control.

After that, I heard vague screams behind that door.

She's weak but powerful at the same time. She wields the power to control literally everything but it's a shame that she doesn't realize it. If I am one lucky experiment subject like her, I would've made that into good use and escaped in no time. I would've been thankful to wield such power.

I proceeded down the hallway, heading towards the stairs to the office which was kept far away from the cells.

I raised my arms and stretched it as I passed by the doors to the worker's offices as well as resting areas. I let out a sigh of relief and put my arms down, righting my clothes before I entered the room at the end of the hallway.

"Father," I called as I turned the door open unlike the other workers who would knock politely.

After perceiving that no workers were here to talk to him, I shut the door and sat on the guest's couch before my father's desk. The man in his fifties, was typing on his laptop before shutting it off to speak.

"How's Crystal?" He asked.

"Back in her cell." I answered.

Father has always cared about her after she became the project's first successful outcome, after hundreds of failed attempts excluding the rest of the failed ones before I came into work. He admired her a lot and was constantly asking questions about her. His question can sometimes be repetitive and even asking the same questions everyday since he's hoping for more updates on the project.

Though Crystal was considered the first subject who successfully and fortunately survived, there are also experiments with other subjects that have worked but don't meet the exact and expected outcome.

"And the traitor?" He asked.

"He's dead." I said, "It's Felix, you know the short Asian janitor who claimed that he owes someone almost half a million for gambling?"

"He tried to take Crystal?" He asked to reconfirm.

I nodded, "We later used him as a test subject when they're testing her abilities."

After that, I saw him contemplating with dilated eyes for a few moments before he spoke again, "She's powerful isn't she?" He mumbled as if to himself but I knew that he's asking for my opinion.

"A little too powerful but too dumb to realize it." I commented, keeping my gaze on the door when our conversation began to get boring and pointless.

I pushed myself up after coming in for the comfort of the couch and to update him on the previous incident which had him in shambles.

As I was reaching for the door, he asked another question regarding the previous incident, "Where did she go when she's out?"

I stopped for a moment then realized I'd forgotten to investigate that, "I'm meeting with the security team now."

I left after that and headed straight for the camera room.

We watched the camera footage that was recorded after the electricity was restored and the lights turned back on.

All we could see was her heading towards the workers' dorms, which was extremely close to her figuring out where the exit was. I was thankful that I was guarding that place when I was told that she's nowhere near the subject area and that someone had declared that they'd heard loud footsteps near the corridor to the dorms.

After that, I ordered a few workers to lock up the vents system since she already knew of it and put up more exit signs to mess with those who are trying to escape. Though Crystal is the only one who had dared to escape in this place, twice even, the team expected the other subjects to do the same when the time comes.

I recalled the first time when she escaped. Out of all the subjects, including those who seemed to be strong and daring, I wasn't anticipating her to break out of her cell thoroughly. The funny thing was the exit sign that'd tricked her to walk back into her own cell that she tried so hard to escape.

After dealing with the security team and ensuring the enhancement made this time would be more powerful, I headed to the labs to meet someone who I consider a friend rather than a colleague.

I pushed the door open and flicked my watch over to look at the time, "Still working?"

There at the counter I see Ayven, one of the scientists that was greatly a part of the current project, reading whatever essay nerds read. I plodded over to the rack of chemicals kept on the table and took one up out of curiosity.

"Derrick said he still couldn't get the same formula as the one which succeeded." He spoke after throwing those stacks of papers down.

I scoffed and said, "Well, your boss can't bear that long without surprises."

"Tell your father we might need more testers and time." He spoke and picked up his phone.

I didn't respond and assumed that he wasn't expecting there to be one, since getting testers in here is a demanding job. While the hired team was transporting the last few ones, they were almost caught and suspected by the police.

"I heard she escaped again." He began.

I sighed to myself, then an idea came to me abruptly, "You want wine?" I asked, since my day was drastically exhausting to end without alcohol, "Let's have a chat."

With that, we walked to the hotel restaurant right above the scientific facility and ordered a few. The waitress working the night shift served us in no time and returned to being on her phone. She seemed rather busier on her phone than her actual job.

"That bitch thought that she's smart enough to run out of this place on her first attempt." I spoke after taking a sip from the glass of wine, "Tried to fight me but lost after I slammed a stun gun at her."

I drank some more while Ayven chuckled, "Told you, you should've chained her up."

A burp came out of my lips as I speak, "Mister-fucking-CEO wouldn't allow it."

He took another shot and said, "Well he wouldn't know if you don't tell," he spoke, speaking with his scientifically functioning mind, I have to thank God that he isn't stating any gravitational laws of physics.

"He doesn't even walk around to check anymore, only you are."

But then an idea came to me, "I was thinking of giving her some torture so she wouldn't do it again after seeing that face so confident."

Ayven was silent for a while, I turned to look at him and saw that he's almost drunk after only a little alcohol. Then, he said, "Go ahead then," and he dropped onto the table, seemingly out of exhaustion and lack of sleep I presume.

Though I couldn't see bags under his eyes, I was sure that he hadn't been sleeping these few days because of some problem with the other subjects.

There is one, a boy with feathers grown on his back but no wings. There were supposed to be wings but the experiment came to a fail. He had been well for the first few weeks after he survived the experiment, but recently, he has been struggling to maintain a proper immune system.

Some of the workers have been saying that his conditions have been worsening after this evening's event.